Trotz on Hornqvist: ‘He’s back’

If getting right wing Patric Hornqvist’s attention was one of the reasons Preds coach Barry Trotz chose to make him a healthy scratch on Saturday, the move apparently worked.

Trotz said he saw a difference in Hornqvist’s play in practice on Monday.

“He’s just got to get going the way he can, (but) I think he’s back,’’ Trotz said. “Just watching him today, he was back. He was irritated. That’s what I want. I want him irritated. He’s got another level in his game.

“I didn’t think he was getting to as many pucks as he should be. Therefore, just a little more determination. I don’t have any problem with his work ethic, but whether he’s getting five minutes, 10 or 15 minutes (of ice time), it’s got to be good.’’

It’s been a challenging last few weeks for Hornqvist, who has seen his ice time get cut – in part due to the return of right wings J.P. Dumont and Jordin Tootoo, and in part because Trotz didn’t think he was playing as well as he did early in the season.

“If you play good, you get your ice time,’’ Hornqvist said. “If you don’t play good, you don’t get your ice time. So I just have to keep working hard, hopefully some pucks go in for me and I will get my confidence up. It’s not bad, but it could be higher.

“I just need to keep going hard every night and getting pucks on the net, and you’re going to get rewarded.”